At least 16 killed in Uganda tribal clashes with police near Congo border

KAMPALA, Uganda – Ugandan police say armed members of a tribal group near Uganda's border with Congo have killed at least 12 people in attacks that targeted mostly police stations.

Police spokesman Fred Enanga said Sunday that "thugs" armed with spears, guns and machetes assaulted government buildings on Saturday in three western districts. Four of the attackers were killed and 17 others were arrested, he said.

Enanga said the attacks were likely carried out by "radical elements" within a cultural group known as Obusinga bwa Rwenzururu, whose members, from the Bakonzo tribe, have long had a tense relationship with the neighboring Bamba people.

Angelo Izama, a Ugandan analyst, said the Bakonzo and Bamba regularly fight over farmland and that some may feel that the security forces aren't always fair arbiters in such conflicts.